Umbrella organisations

An organisation on the platform is in one of two positions. It is either independent, running on its own, or hosted, operating under an umbrella organisation.

An umbrella is not a separate kind of organisation. It is an independent organisation that has been enabled to host others — typically a federation, a network or a fiscal sponsor that looks after several smaller groups. An organisation cannot host others from the moment it is created: it has to be verified first, and only then can it be enabled to host.

Asking to join an umbrella

An independent organisation can ask to be hosted. It happens on the Umbrella Membership card, on the Settings tab of your organisation’s page — a tab only administrators see.

The Umbrella Membership card: an independent organisation and the Browse buttonOpen /a/settings/organization in the app

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The card says what joining is for: gaining access to shared resources, coordination, and greater visibility within a network. An independent organisation sees “Your organization operates independently” and a Browse Umbrella Organizations button. That opens Join an Umbrella Organization:

• Search the list of umbrellas. Only organisations that have been enabled to host appear.
• Choose one, and add an optional message. Say who you are and why you want to join; the umbrella reads it before deciding.
• Send the request.

The card then shows that you have a pending request. While it is pending you can withdraw it, which is only possible while it is still waiting — a request that has already been decided cannot be withdrawn.

If the umbrella declines, the card says “Your request was declined” and offers Browse Umbrella Organizations again, so you can ask another umbrella.

Organization settingsOpen in the app

https://actionnetwork.world/a/settings/organization

What happens when an umbrella approves

On approval your organisation becomes hosted by that umbrella, and your organisation’s administrators are notified. A request can only be approved while it is still open, and only if your organisation is not, in the meantime, already hosted by someone else — an organisation has one host at a time.

You can also choose a host when you first set up the organisation, instead of asking afterwards: an initiative with no legal entity of its own, or a group represented by someone else, can name the umbrella that will host it as part of onboarding. Where you name none, the organisation starts as independent.

If you run an umbrella

An umbrella’s administrators, given the permission to review hosting requests, see the requests sent to them with the requesting organisation’s details and its message. For each one they can approve or reject, and add a note explaining the decision. Rejecting asks for a confirmation first, because the requester sees the outcome.

They can also list the organisations currently hosted under them.

What this page does not cover

What hosting changes about billing and plans. The platform’s design describes a revenue arrangement for hosted organisations, and the umbrella plan itself is not finalised. Nothing here should be read as describing what a hosted organisation pays or what an umbrella earns.

How an organisation is enabled to host. That step follows verification, and this guide has not yet walked through where an administrator switches it on.